Sometimes it seems that as designers we are asked to do the impossible. Recently I had this experience with a client. While designing their business card the client kept thinking of things they wanted to add. A logo. Title. Name. Phone Number. Email. Address. PO Box. Another photo. OH! And only a one-sided card!

I squeezed and rearranged. I struggled and brainstormed. But in the end? The business card turned out very well and I was glad that I had one more card to add to my portfolio.

Never write off a client’s demands as an impossible task. Attack it! Conquer and you may just be pleased with the result. Let’s have a few more miracle working designers out there!

Wanna see some of MY business cards? The card I’m referring to is somewhere on this page! Happy hunting!

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Enjoy this guest post by Senior Designer, Amanda King! With a solid degree in Communications, Amanda King found herself exploring her creative nature through an internship with a ministry in Tulsa, OK. Quickly her innate creativity was revealed as she was assigned more and more tasks and today, the rest is history. King’s responsibilities include creative branding for a variety of groups and ministries. She frequently finds herself working on print projects ranging from letterhead to magazine layout.

I know we have all had to work with people that aren’t always easy to work with and lets be honest, that drive us crazy! But sometimes, we get the opportunity to work with someone that is not only easy to work with, but that challenges you to do better. And you come out with a product that wouldn’t have been as good if you hadn’t worked with that person.

Collaboration is one of the most important tools at our disposal as designers. I had the opportunity this last week to pick up a job from another designer in the office. Long story short the job I picked up should have taken about an hour or two to complete, but the concept behind the design was a little more difficult to create than initially anticipated. So, it literally took myself and the original designer assigned to the job, a whole day going back and forth on the design until we really nailed it. And I have to say, I definitely couldn’t have gotten to that point without the collaboration with my co-worker.

So don’t be afraid to ask some of your co-workers, colleagues, friends, whoever, that you trust of course, for their input. They may be able to see something you don’t, or have an idea you haven’t thought of, and that’s okay. Sometimes we get stuck in this competition mindset. There are times to be competitive, don’t get me wrong, I like a good competition, but sometimes you need to let someone else give you an honest constructive opinion, and that’s when something good can become something awesome!

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You might notice that a few changes have occurred here on the blog. You might also notice that there are still a few bugs to work out where colors aren’t quite matching up and things are in limbo. I decided that I would take this opportunity to have a visual illustration. As you follow the blog, you can also follow the progress of the site.

Stay tuned, we have some guest bloggers on their way with some awesome articles, that you don’t wanna miss. If you are interested in being a guest author contact me here.

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Contrary to popular belief, I HAVE NOT been on vacation the past 2 weeks. Instead, I have been working insane hours and practically around the clock to complete a web site project for Kenneth Hagin Ministries. Last night it finally went live, I can now breathe again adn sit back and enjoy my crazy hectic life once more.

Thanks for hanging in there with me as I’ve been absent these past few days. I will be posting some very useful information that I gathered while I was away. In the meantime, my two most recent projects can be found at www.rhema.org and www.ibelievedoyou.com

I should be back to my semi-daily posting schedule tomorrow! In the meanwhile any feedback on the sites is appreciated!

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Deadlines. The most hated word in the design field. Why? Because creativity isn’t always something that can be "done" it has to be "allowed" sometimes.

Recently, at work, I encountered a situation where my designers all had huge projects due at the same time. Things had been delayed until that week and then suddenly everyone needed their projects immediately.  Pressure was high. Stress was high. Intensity was in the air.

Well, I did what any normal person would do under the circumstances. I cried. No seriously, I did.

Then I made a list. A long list. First, I attacked the small things that I could do quickly, next I used the sense of accomplishment that I got from that, to start in on the big fish.

What do you know? It worked!

We got it all done and our clients, were actually happy!

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Sometimes I wish there was a single cookie-cutter process that I could use when designing. I would pull out my "creativity" list, check off each item and then when I’m done a design comes out.

Unfortunately, if you’re a designer, you are already know that it doesn’t work that way. We aren’t just another job on the production line, putting on the bolts as a project travels along the conveyor belt. We have to be original, creative and different. Every thing hinges on our ability to come up with something different, unique, and new.

Where do we start? Below are 5 things I’ve found that help you reach your creative peak.:

1.  Clear your head by writing out all your tasks (on paper or in a digital to-do list).
2.  Pick your music (The faster the music, the faster I work).
3.  Keep your space clean (As I work papers, pens, and file folders start piling up all around me).
4.  Focus on one task at a time (The more you projects you start, the less likely you are to get one finished).
5. Revel in your accomplishments (The best part of the day, is marking a task off your list. Look back at the completed task to get your second wind and keep your energy flowing!)

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